Pre-Zoroastrian
notions of the fravashis reach back in time to the Indo-Aryan
period and, earlier, to a primitive moment when as spirits of the deceased
they continued to exercise power over human affairs in life.
Ancestor-worship and the cult of the dead have ever since played a major
part in religious observances throughout human history. It was not so much
respect for the sprits of the departed, as their dread, that made the
essential rituals of appeasement so elaborate. Those spirits had to be
especially remembered at certain times, usually anniversaries, or when not
exactly recalled, then at fixed times during the seasonal year during
which all the spirits of the dead were ritually summoned to partake of
commemorative feasts where offerings were presented solemnly in their
names.

That
it was indeed fear based is borne out by the treatment accorded the newly
deceased. Prayers were said for the repose of the soul, for its
sustenance during its journey towards the gods beside whom it was hoped it
would forever remain. A dread visitation by an unappeased spirit to its
former earthly home to wreak its malevolence upon the living lay behind
the child like precaution taken to foil such return. Before its
preparation for disposal the body of the deceased was placed in an unused
room set apart from the usually occupied living quarters. It was thence
removed through a breach purposely made in an outside wall, the opening
then being resealed to turn away the angry spirit from gaining re-entry
into the home it had occupied during its incarnated existence.

In
early Zoroastrianism such primitive beliefs were superseded by a more
rational attitude towards the departed soul. It was recognized that vital
elements, the breath-soul, of a person died when the body ceased to be a
living form. The imperishable or immortal soul, or urvan, survived
physical death and went on to meet with its daena or now
disembodied Self, which had been shaped during the lifetime of the
deceased. This post-mortem meeting with its daena was seen as the
final encounter with its own good or bad deeds performed during life, just
as during life it was being constantly beautified or disfigured according
to those actions. During life it had been a mirror of the soul; in death
that image would be presented to the urvan of the deceased starting
out on its perilous journey over the Bridge of Judgement.

There
was yet another spiritual element - one which pre-existed the physical
entity and watched over it throughout its lifetime. This was the fravashi.
Our early mythology, as best seen in the Farvardin Yasht, had taken
up the ancient concept of ancestor-spirit and re-fashioned it to keep pace
with the progressive thinking which has always characterized
Zoroastrianism. How did Zarathushtra deal with the notion of this
pre-existing guiding spirit which was supposed to watch over and protect
the physical being? In the Gathas there is no mention of the fravashi:
indeed it would have compromised the firm teaching on the individual
responsibility for one's thoughts, words and works. That it was never far
from the peoples' heart and minds may be confirmed by the rapidity with
which the fravashi-concept re-entered their worship-in the Yasna
Haptanhaiti, 37.3.

There
Ahura Mazda is to be worshiped through the fravashi of all righteous men
and women. There was no gender distinction. Ingrained fear from old had
allowed in the dread aspect of unseen but ever-present spirits of the
departed which, if not properly appeased, would exercise their malevolence
upon the living. The time had come for the series of explanations that we
see unfolding in Yasht 13, the Worship of the Fravashis.

The
Farvardin Yasht

This
Yasht fall into two main parts: Ch 1-84, and 85-158. The first part,
comprising 23 smaller sections or chapters, present with minor
discrepancies the six stages of creation, and proceeds to inform us that
Ahura Mazda himself had recourse to the help of the fravashi in
keeping the sky in its place around the tripartite earth. In the Gathas,
Yasna 44.4, it is Ahura Mazda unaided who maintains this separation, and
the earth in Yasna 32.3 has seven parts, Whether the later division is the
older, we cannot determine, for the Vidaevodata/Vendidad's second
chapter gives Yima/Jamshid's three stage colonization of the entire earth
as taking place over three southward movement, and Yima, we know, had
preceded Zarathushtra by a very considerable time. Where again in the
Gathas, 34.5,7 we see only Ahura Mazda recognized as sole Deity,
all-powerful and omniscient Creator of everything, the Farvardin
Yasht describes a dual creation, only the good part of which was performed
by Ahura Mazda with the help of the fravashis. The sun, moon and
stars are said to be arranged in their motion by them; Yasna 44.3
attributes this only to Ahura Mazda. In Ch 57 is the listing, in order of
distance from earth according to ancient belief, of stars, moon, sun and
the Endless Lights where Ahura Mazda dwells: here again the fravashis
break the heavenly inertia and cause their movement along their proper
courses! This good work will continue until the Renovation of this world.

Where
we a change from the old ancestor-worship is in the innovative Ch17. There
we encounter the fravashi of the paoiryo-tkaesha (those
adherents of the primitive doctrine) who are often presented in later
Avestic and Pahlavi texts as true adherents of Mazdayasna. There can be
little doubt that Mazda-worship existed, among other cults, well before
Zarathushtra's time: such worship is alluded to in the Gathas with our mantran's
caveat that that veneration was considered by him improper and
ineffective, and that the true Revelation came only to him directly from
Ahura Mazda. It should be stressed that whilst Mazda-worship pre-existed
Zarathushtra, his particular genius ensured that he placed Mazda above and
beyond all others - He became the Founder's only Ahura. There was
none other, and He had no opponent despite claims perversely and
unconvincingly advanced by unprincipled dualist who have not faced up to
the Gathas, but instead trifled with re-introduced deities from earlier
nature-worship, Zurvanite speculation (taken up with zeal by the heretic
Mani), and with later concoctions made to fit into what to them passes for
Zoroastrianism.

The
assimilation of this Yasht with Zarathushtra's system is through the
simple procedure of making the Reformer one among the many Mazdayasnian paoiryotkaeshas
who worshipped the fravashis through the earlier form of their
special Yasht. This process can be seen in the first 25 sections whose
first two chapters (kardes) use the expedient of making their
teachings known to Zarathushtra by Ahura Mazda himself - one which was to
be thoroughly exploited in the Vidaevodata/Vendidad. Particularly
noteworthy is the clear assertion that the fravashi of the LIVING
righteous are MORE POWERFUL than those of the departed - it in fact
includes the fravashi of all righteous persons from the past
through to the unborn Saoshyants or three millennial Saviours who will
each progressively destroy evil from the earth until its perfection. We
note the divergence from Zarathushtra's Gathic teachings where the
Revelation declares that each and every one of mankind who has attained to
the Good Mind (Vohu Manah) of Ahura Mazda is considered a saoshyant!
The saving grace is, of course, that of all fravashis, past,
present, and future, of all nations are to be piously invoked (Ch 21, to
be repeated more fully in 143-144). Zarathushtra would, however, probably
have relented just enough to allow that whilst the design was
disagreeable, such compromising, sentiments did after all produce results;
the Great Reformer had humanity enough to recognize human frailty in
others and, having repeatedly stressed free-will and choice in his Gathas,
would have quickly seen that old ingrained superstitions are not readily
relinquished.

The
fravashis are depicted in militaristic mode: such representation
can be seen in Chs.23,26-27, 31,33,35, ( especially ) 37-38,45 and 72
(where the arms and weaponry of the times are listed), 39,40, and 67.
Pre-figuring the winged angles of the Abrahamic religions are the
Zoroastrian external souls of righteous mankind who hasten to the help of
beleaguered sovereigns, flying like well-winged birds (Ch70).

Fear
of the return of disgruntled souls has left its trace in the Farvardin
Yasht: Chs. 34,49-51, 63,73, where worshippers who properly prepare the
expected welcome during the fravashis' ten days return are in turn blest
with material rewards. Tame and wild animals (of these, at least those
which do no harm, as says the Yasna Haptanhaiti, 39.2) have both
imperishable urvan, pre-existent external souls- their fravashis
(ch74).

The
qualities of the fravashis are generosity, valour, beneficence, power,
radiance, and steadfastness. Through them these qualities are transferred
also to Ahura Mazda who has his own Fravashi as do his aspects, the
seven (!) Amesha Sepantas, whose "father" he is. Ahura Mazda's
soul, his urvan, is Bounteous Revelation, his mantra spenta.
Just as human souls after death traverse the four celestial paradisiacal
stations of stars, moon, sun, and the Endless Lights, so too do the Amesha
Spentas "think" along the corresponding stages of Good thoughts,
Good Words, Good Deeds and the House of Songs (Ch. 83-84). Zarathushtra,
it must be pointed out, had no such elaboration in his Gathas, the
forgoing being a development necessary for the accommodation of
pre-Zarathushtrian concepts with his own radical teachings.

Zarathushtra.
With Ch.87, the Farvardin Yasht introduces Zarathushtra in its second part
(Ch85-158). Here our Preceptor's fravashi is worshiped as that of
the foremost athravan, the foremost rathaeshtar, and
foremost vastrya-fshusho- the tripartite societal divisions of
priests, (chariot-borne) warriors, and pastoralists of ancient Indo-Aryan
nations. More importantly, it is specified that he is regarded as
messenger and teacher of the Revelation in all its aspects, one who
revolted against daevayasna and instituted the proper worship of
Ahura Mazda. He is both ahu and ratu - guide in both the
spiritual and material worlds, the declarer and praiser of Truth. Here the
Anti-demonic Law (the proto-Vendidad?) is also taught by him - its dualism
emerges in the opposition of Mazda's Good creation and the daevic one. His
birth was proclaimed a blessing by the waters, plants and all the
beneficent creations (this is repeated in Ashi Yasht, 18). He acknowledged
as the bearer and disseminator of Mazda-worshipping Good Religion, the vanhui
daena mazdayasnish among all the earth's seven regions.

The
religious heroes of Ancient Iran are listed and their fravashis
praised. Among them are Saena Ahum-stut, the first teacher-priest who
appears with a hundred religious students; Zarathushtra's three sons who
severally represented the priests, agriculturists, and the warriors;
Vishtaspa; Frashaoshtra and Jamaspa with their sons. There are also listed
those whose names are unknown elsewhere, each subsidiary list ending with
the unborn saviour, the Saoshyant Astvat-ereta. Another set of ancient
heroes (Ch 130-138) includes Yima (Jamshid). Thraetaona (Faridun) Aoshnara,
and the Kavi list of eight illustrious rulers of eastern Iran. They are
all said to have contributed to Ahura Mazda's Victory and Glory.

Karde
30 (Ch139-142) venerates the fravashis of the ancient religions
heroines commencing with the three daughters of Zarathushtra, Freni,
Thriti, and Pouruchista (this last made known to us in Yasna 53 as the
youngest), and ending with the virgin mother of the three future
millennial saviours. What follows is the clearest testimony (Ch 143-144)
to the universalism of Zarathushtra's religion: here the fravashis
of all righteous men and women from all lands, past,
present, and future, are given the same worship as those from Ancient
Iran. It is carefully emphasized that traveling priests had visited all
the lands spreading the Good Religion.

The
magnificent Yasht closes with the reverence accorded to the five spiritual
elements - the ahu, daena, baodha, urvan, and the fravashi -
of the paoiryo-tkaeshas (followers of the primitive doctrine) among
whom Zarathushtra has been included to validate the pre-Zarathushtrian
worship. May all the fravashis who visit at the time of their Ten
Days' commemoration be welcomed and then take their departure after the
due offerings have been properly made and accepted. May they not depart
offended.

The
Fravahar/Farohar symbol

Just
as Fire symbolizes the Truth of Ahura Mazda, so does the well-known winged
disc today commonly represent the fravashi. Here its symbolism
raises some different possibilities, and one cannot be certain as to what
the winged figure represented in the minds of those who originally adopted
and adapted it from earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian reliefs. The
best-known examples are featured by the first Darius at Persepolis,
Behistun and Nagsh -i-Rostam. But what did these actually represent? Was
it Ahura Mazda depicted in Median dress? Was it His fravashi? Was
it a priestly spiritual guide of religion - a ratu? Or was it the fravashi
of the king himself? Was it therefore the seal of divine empowerment of
the king's authority?

As
external soul and protective spirit, it could have been used as
authenticator of the king's legitimacy to rule and his earthly power
conferred by the will and favour of Ahura Mazda. It could thus signify the
kharenah/farr-i-izadi, the mysterious divine essence defined as
Fortune, Glory, or Victorious Power. The Farvardin Yasht's Ch.133-134
could support this notion. As king's fravashi it could mean Ahura
Mazda's approval. Could it be Ahura Mazda himself? Now, we know from the
Gathas that Zarathushtra conceived of his one chosen Deity and His aspect
in the abstract, i.e., He could not be "seen". When the manthran
invoked their "visible" presence, he was merely saying that the
Best Ones of Mazda, Asha and Vohu Manah should be "seen" as
Wisdom, Truth and Good Mind manifested in this world (Yasna 33.7;34.6) by
the good activity of all believers in Zarathushtrian Mazda-worship (Yasna
34.15). However that may be, it is still possible that the Great King
wished to thus depict his sole heavenly sovereign Ahura Mazda hovering
above the figure of the earthly ruler. On Behistun, the royal
autobiographer details his political achievements; the religious content
proper yields only an outline of his theological belief, but the hovering
(wavy-) winged figure is ever-present and ever watchfully protective.
Everything the Great King had achieved on earth was through "the will
of Ahura Mazda". The extant reliefs at Persepolis show a formally
preened winged disc. At Naqsh-I-Rostam, the sculptured relief on the Great
King's rock tomb shows the monarch worshiping the Fire on an alter above
which hovers the winged disc with its centrally place figure. To the left
of the king is an inscription, which outline his perception of
"Ahuramazda" by whose command and assistance he acquired the
listed satrapies of his empire. He closes with a prayer to Ahuramazda for
His protection. In the second inscription, around the doorway of
his tomb, he details his moral qualities, and his physical
powers and skills- both are conferred upon him by Ahuramazda. They are
reflexions of the qualities of the fravashis as noted in the
Farvardin Yasht.

THE
DECENT OF THE FRAVASHIS

We
have noted the virtues and functions of the fravashis. How did they
originally make themselves known to the Mazdayasnians who had but lately
come away from the primitive fear-laden beliefs of their forebears? We
have the early teachings of the Farvardin Yasht incorporated within the
later - the Pahlavi - text, two of which elaborate on these reformed
views: both Zadspram and Bundahishn give us these early and mediaeval
beliefs. Truth being the focus of the Zoroastrian religion, it was but
natural that the religious knowledge would be equated with the knowledge
of the righteous ones, the ashavans. This knowledge, being
spiritual, was deemed contained in the celestial fortress, which was
manned by the fravashis of the righteous to protect the physical
world from the assault of Evil.

The
situation on earth demanded the assistance and protection of this pure
knowledge, which resided with the militaristically depicted fravashi
in their spiritual stronghold. Ahura Mazda / Ohrmazd, the embodiment of
All Wisdom, reasoned with the spiritual beings who dwelt with him - they
are the external souls of mankind - asking whether they would choose to
descend among humanity to help expedite the vanquishing of evil on earth.
Knowing the final outcome, and seeking to bring closer the final renewal
of the world, the frashokereti / frashegird, when only goodness and
purity would prevail, they agreed to come down into the physical sphere.

We
can see how much Zoroastrianism has contributed towards the freedom from
fear of malignant spirits, and how far we have come from primitive belief
into the glorious world-view which our Founder Zarathushtra had intended
for us to realize through knowledge, progress, and selfless humanitarian
deeds. Those who wear the fravahar/farohar amulet about their
person should now perhaps better understand what it truly symbolizes -
their own individual moral responsibility for bringing about and
maintaining a better world for all mankind.

Farrokh
Jal Vajifdar was born in Bombay, India, into a high priestly family.
Navjoted at nine, he has settled in London since sixteen. Took no interest
whatever in Zoroastrianism initially, but instead studied and taught modern
languages. Converted from Parsiism to Zoroastrianism at age 19, and has not
ceased studying Indo-Iranian civilizations since. Specializes in the history,
languages, literatures, and religions of Ancient Iran. Writes, translates,
lectures, and occasionally broadcasts on foreign and national radio and
television.

Reluctant midwife to some aspiring Parsi authors, and collaborator with noted
non-Zoroastrian scholars on translations, articles and books. Recent co-editor
for the commemoration volume 'Mash-a dorun" ("The Fire Within') for
the Iranian scholar Jamshid Soroushian, and "Orientalia Romana - 7",
being essays from the World Zoroastrian Organisation's 1996 London Conference on
Zoroastrian Literature. Occasional contributor to the Vohuman.org and CAIS-SOAS
websites. Categorizes himself as independent researcher.

He is a Fellow (and former Vice-President and Fellow-in-Council) of the Royal
Asiatic Society, and a review contributor to its Journal. Farrokh is happily
out-married to the same wife for some 39 years, having the same son for some 36
years, the cutest grand-daughter of some 16 months, and a wildly affectionate
dog of some 5 years.